UNDERSTANDING

Gambling Addiction

For some people gambling spirals into an all-consuming preoccupation in which there is far more than money at risk — more important things at risk soon include your relationships, your house, your job, and ability to function without a daily gambling fix.

It turns out that more dopamine is released in areas of problem gambler’s brains in response to ‘near misses’ than to actual wins. This, combined with a tendency to view certain failures as ‘near misses’ rather than actual failures, may be why problem gamblers have such a hard time disengaging even when they’re on a losing streak.

Understanding

GAMBLING ADDICTION

Hormones lead traders to take financial risks

Video

There's a tendency in economics to think that financial risk-taking is a purely cognitive activity, but as Dr John Coates explains, it's more quirky than that. Young male city traders on a winning streak shift their risk preferences and take on too much risk.

Risky business ~ Problem Gambling

Article

Gambling is all around us, whether in casinos and betting shops, or in the growing number of online bingo and roulette websites. What determines who can keep it to the odd flutter, and for whom gambling can get out of control?

Problem gambling ignored by the NHS

Article

“The NHS is severely impaired in its ability to address new pathologies such as problem gambling, because it is having to spend all its money on drug and alcohol treatment” says psychiatrist Henrietta Bowden-Jones.

Inside the brain of a gambling addict

Video

What happens inside the brain of a gambling addict when they make a bet - and can the secret to their addiction be found within the brain itself? BBC Panorama filmed a unique experiment designed to find out.

The controversy surrounding sex addiction

Article

While controversy over its definition – and even its very existence – continues to foment, sex addiction, all too often steeped in shame and guilt, is a very real problem that has a spectacular ability to destroy lives and relationships.

Alcohol is More Dangerous Than Heroin

Video

Professor David Nutt was infamously sacked from his role as Chief Drugs Advisor after publishing a report in the Lancet which challenged the government's policy on drugs, stating that alcohol is in fact more dangerous than heroin.

China's ketamine craze

Video

The drug ketamine is mainly used as an anaesthetic, particularly in emergency medicine. But in some countries, it's become popular as a recreational drug. China is one — the authorities there say its use is soaring among young people — while its price continues to drop.

Stephen Fry on Cocaine

Toxicologist explains dangers of 'Molly'

Video

Toxicologist Richard Church has a simple warning for young party-goers who may think the club drug 'Molly', an allegedly pure form of MDMA, is safe. "Don't trust your drug dealer," says Dr Church. Molly is not the Molly they thought it was. It is not pure.

Is there a cocaine culture at the criminal bar?

Death on Prescription

Article

When asked which drug kills the most users per year what springs to mind? Heroin? Cocaine? Certainly not Paracetamol. But prescription drug abuse is responsible for a significant number of drug related deaths across the globe.

MDMA - A greater danger to women than men

Article

The reason behind the difference in MDMA’s biological interactivity for men and women is due to women typically having lower body mass indexes, but not adjusting their dosages appropriately to account for this.

The Sex Addict’s Dark World

Video

Reported cases of sex addiction in America are now in the millions. Some estimates suggest 3 to 5% of the American population, including stories of ordinary folk . . . like the Doherty’s from San Antonio

Your Brain on Porn - Scary Effects of Porn Addiction

Video

Scientists in the field of neuroscience and brain imaging are showing in study after study that high speed internet porn can change the brain just like drug addiction. This wreaks havoc on the reward/pleasure system in the brain resulting in devastating effects.

Two million Brits addicted to prescription drugs

Best Of The Web

Nina Lakhani, reporting for The Independent, asks how an unchecked culture of legal drug addiction has been allowed to flourish, with two million addicted to tranquillisers, and many thousands abusing over-the-counter painkillers.

I was addicted to prescription drugs

Video

This BBC Newsnight report asks if the prescription drug addiction problem sweeping the United States could be replicated in the UK. With interviews with people who have struggled with addiction, and those offering help and support.

Florida pain clinics

Does Tinder spell the end of romance?

Article

Tinder has skyrocketed in popularity since its inception in 2012. Its trajectory has proven remarkable: within two short years it was registering about one billion ‘swipes’ per day opening up a whole new world of internet assisted casual sex.

Cocaine in The City

Article

Powder cocaine has a stereotyped reputation as the ‘recreational’ drug of choice for rich high-flyers in pressured jobs, but recreation can quickly become a destructive dependency. What are the reasons for this, and how can problematic use be alleviated with treatment?

My Name Is... And I'm an Alcoholic

Video

A short documentary looking at life the stories of eight alcoholics from their first drink, to their rock bottom, and then to their recovery. Director Mikey Trotter asks ‘what makes alcoholics drink’ and ‘how do you try and get sober.'

Ketamine and the threat of global prohibition

Article

Ketamine has been on the club scene for decades, although only quite recently are its debilitating long-term side effects coming to light. But it's also a life saver in developing countries where it serves as a cheap and available anaesthetic.

The Drunken Monkey Hypothesis

Article

Clues from our distant ancestral past suggest that an attraction to alcohol may once have conferred an evolutionary advantage, and explain the the mystery of why we humans are often compelled to consume what is essentially a toxin.

Mephedrone ~ from legal high to Class B

Relapse does not mean 'back to square one'

Article

Drugs, alcohol, exercise, sex, pornography, gambling....It seems anything pleasurable can become addictive, but how to draw the line between a harmless hobby and a problem? What elements of treatment are most important in helping tackle addictions?

Alcoholic Vervet Monkeys

Video

BBC's Weird Nature series shows how Vervet Monkeys in the Caribbean have taken to stealing cocktails from people on the beach. Studies show that they have the same percentage of teetotal and alcoholic individuals as the human population.

Hormones lead traders to take financial risks

Video

There's a tendency in economics to think that financial risk-taking is a purely cognitive activity, but as Dr John Coates explains, it's more quirky than that. Young male city traders on a winning streak shift their risk preferences and take on too much risk.

Risky business ~ Problem Gambling

Article

Gambling is all around us, whether in casinos and betting shops, or in the growing number of online bingo and roulette websites. What determines who can keep it to the odd flutter, and for whom gambling can get out of control?

Problem gambling ignored by the NHS

Article

“The NHS is severely impaired in its ability to address new pathologies such as problem gambling, because it is having to spend all its money on drug and alcohol treatment” says psychiatrist Henrietta Bowden-Jones.

Inside the brain of a gambling addict

Video

What happens inside the brain of a gambling addict when they make a bet - and can the secret to their addiction be found within the brain itself? BBC Panorama filmed a unique experiment designed to find out.

The controversy surrounding sex addiction

Article

While controversy over its definition – and even its very existence – continues to foment, sex addiction, all too often steeped in shame and guilt, is a very real problem that has a spectacular ability to destroy lives and relationships.

Alcohol is More Dangerous Than Heroin

Video

Professor David Nutt was infamously sacked from his role as Chief Drugs Advisor after publishing a report in the Lancet which challenged the government's policy on drugs, stating that alcohol is in fact more dangerous than heroin.

China's ketamine craze

Video

The drug ketamine is mainly used as an anaesthetic, particularly in emergency medicine. But in some countries, it's become popular as a recreational drug. China is one — the authorities there say its use is soaring among young people — while its price continues to drop.

Stephen Fry on Cocaine

Toxicologist explains dangers of 'Molly'

Video

Toxicologist Richard Church has a simple warning for young party-goers who may think the club drug 'Molly', an allegedly pure form of MDMA, is safe. "Don't trust your drug dealer," says Dr Church. Molly is not the Molly they thought it was. It is not pure.

Is there a cocaine culture at the criminal bar?

Death on Prescription

Article

When asked which drug kills the most users per year what springs to mind? Heroin? Cocaine? Certainly not Paracetamol. But prescription drug abuse is responsible for a significant number of drug related deaths across the globe.

MDMA - A greater danger to women than men

Article

The reason behind the difference in MDMA’s biological interactivity for men and women is due to women typically having lower body mass indexes, but not adjusting their dosages appropriately to account for this.

The Sex Addict’s Dark World

Video

Reported cases of sex addiction in America are now in the millions. Some estimates suggest 3 to 5% of the American population, including stories of ordinary folk . . . like the Doherty’s from San Antonio

Your Brain on Porn - Scary Effects of Porn Addiction

Video

Scientists in the field of neuroscience and brain imaging are showing in study after study that high speed internet porn can change the brain just like drug addiction. This wreaks havoc on the reward/pleasure system in the brain resulting in devastating effects.

Two million Brits addicted to prescription drugs

Best Of The Web

Nina Lakhani, reporting for The Independent, asks how an unchecked culture of legal drug addiction has been allowed to flourish, with two million addicted to tranquillisers, and many thousands abusing over-the-counter painkillers.

I was addicted to prescription drugs

Video

This BBC Newsnight report asks if the prescription drug addiction problem sweeping the United States could be replicated in the UK. With interviews with people who have struggled with addiction, and those offering help and support.

Florida pain clinics

Does Tinder spell the end of romance?

Article

Tinder has skyrocketed in popularity since its inception in 2012. Its trajectory has proven remarkable: within two short years it was registering about one billion ‘swipes’ per day opening up a whole new world of internet assisted casual sex.

Cocaine in The City

Article

Powder cocaine has a stereotyped reputation as the ‘recreational’ drug of choice for rich high-flyers in pressured jobs, but recreation can quickly become a destructive dependency. What are the reasons for this, and how can problematic use be alleviated with treatment?

My Name Is... And I'm an Alcoholic

Video

A short documentary looking at life the stories of eight alcoholics from their first drink, to their rock bottom, and then to their recovery. Director Mikey Trotter asks ‘what makes alcoholics drink’ and ‘how do you try and get sober.'

Ketamine and the threat of global prohibition

Article

Ketamine has been on the club scene for decades, although only quite recently are its debilitating long-term side effects coming to light. But it's also a life saver in developing countries where it serves as a cheap and available anaesthetic.

The Drunken Monkey Hypothesis

Article

Clues from our distant ancestral past suggest that an attraction to alcohol may once have conferred an evolutionary advantage, and explain the the mystery of why we humans are often compelled to consume what is essentially a toxin.

Mephedrone ~ from legal high to Class B

Relapse does not mean 'back to square one'

Article

Drugs, alcohol, exercise, sex, pornography, gambling....It seems anything pleasurable can become addictive, but how to draw the line between a harmless hobby and a problem? What elements of treatment are most important in helping tackle addictions?

Alcoholic Vervet Monkeys

Video

BBC's Weird Nature series shows how Vervet Monkeys in the Caribbean have taken to stealing cocktails from people on the beach. Studies show that they have the same percentage of teetotal and alcoholic individuals as the human population.

PRIVATE 1-2-1 TREATMENT

The Alternative To Rehab

As a high functioning addict, you may not be willing take a month out of work and life for rehab, or reveal all within a 12 step group. While rehab is entirely appropriate in some cases, we provide an alternative approach to help individuals overcome addiction within the context of their everyday lives.

EVIDENCE BASED

CBT For Addictions

We treat individuals using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which is proven to work for addictions. CBT assumes that learned behaviour and habitual thinking patterns play an important role in the development and persistence of addiction, and changing these patterns can help individuals break their addiction and move forward.

Logical & Pragmatic

Psychological Formulation

Central to the way we work is the ‘psychological formulation’ – a diagnostic and analytical tool which explores in detail each individual’s situation, and what’s really going on. It reveals the triggers, drivers and contributing factors that led to and sustain the addiction, and helps us understand how to treat it most effectively.

EFFECTIVE & PROVEN

Relapse Prevention Strategies

There are two effective approaches to relapse prevention, and we employ a combination of the two. The first is a practical, CBT-based approach. The second applies the practice of mindfulness to develop a calm awareness of urges and the ability to experience discomfort without giving in to them.